OUTPUT IMPACTS OF RENEWED OLYMPIC STADIUM ROSE TO 194 MILLION 2022 – LANDMARK SITE PARTICULARLY APPLAUDED FOR ITS EVENTS

After the major refurbishment in 2016–2020, the renewed Olympic Stadium was re-inaugurated in August 2020. The refurbished, extended and renewed Stadium is an increasingly versatile arena for events as well as an exercise and a meeting place for all. Therefore, its economic significance and employment and tax impacts have exceeded all expectations.

In the renewed Stadium’s operating year 2022, almost free from any further Covid 19 restrictions,  the production impact, multiplier impacts included, was 194 million euro while the impact in terms of employment was 1 427 jobs. The assessed tax impacts rose to about 27 million euro. According to the calculations made in 2014, the Stadium’s post-renewal economic impact was estimated to be 132 million euro, and thus the result in 2022, and the significance of the Stadium operations, have exceeded the advance prospects. The evaluation* of the economic impacts of the refurbishment and renewal project at the Stadium was made towards the end of 2022 in collaboration with KPMG Oy.

The Olympic Stadium is by far the largest stadium and arena in all Finland. Its economic impacts are in a class of its own, and when  the Stadium is operating at full capacity, the Finnish State and Helsinki City investments in the refurbishment and renewal project will be paid back, Director Ari Kuokkanen of the Olympic Stadium ensures.

In addition to the economic factors, the positive impact of the renewal is clearly reflected by the visitor numbers: the total in 2022 was almost a million, and the potential overall visitor number would have exceeded a million, had there not been the Covid restrictions in place in the early part of the year.  Before the refurbishment and renewal project, the annual visitor number was about 600 000.

Year 2022 was a feast of pop and sports

There is no other building in Finland in the size of the Stadium to provide room for so many spectators. In fact, the Stadium is an integral part of the event cluster in the Helsinki metropolitan area, and the venue of major sports and entertainment events contributes to the attractiveness of not only Helsinki but the whole of Finland. In September 2022, the two subsequent concerts by Antti Tuisku alone attracted as many as 70 000 fans to the Stadium, and the farewell concert of Sunrise Avenue in July reached the same numbers. Among the global stars, the pop idol Ed Sheeran had the largest audience in 2022, of 50 000 spectators. The sports magnets in 2022 included the outstanding performance by the Finnish national football team, the UEFA Super Cup, the track and field event between Finland and Sweden, as well as the Helsinki Ski Weeks.  The total audience in the various events in 2022 was 650 000. 

The major events at the Stadium also generate significant impacts in terms of regional economics, constituted by the increases in regional production required by the organisation of the events as well as by the growth in private consumption. Annually, the sports events and concerts organised at the Stadium attract from 150 000 to 200 000 persons from other Finnish localities or from abroad. The event operations at the Stadium also play a large role for the employment figures in the Helsinki area, providing many actors and operators with the possibility to organise a significant service offer.

The visitor survey** made in the summer of 2022 confirms that we have succeeded in turning the Stadium into a place of events that meets modern requirements: the average score given by the event visitors was over 4.2 (on a scale from 1 to 5). In the words of one visitor: “The Olympic Stadium simply has that something unique, not found elsewhere.”

The renewed Stadium has developed into a vivid place of events and visits, and its importance for the City of Helsinki has grown significantly. In 2022, the Stadium and its operations enjoyed an exceptional national and international visibility in various digital and social media channels, Nasima Razmyar, Chair of the Stadium Foundation Board underlines.  

Public health and good feeling

Year 2022 was a successful operating year for the Stadium, and the events accounted for the largest number of all visitors; 70% of all visitors attended various events.

However, the Stadium is not only a venue of events but also a daily exercise and meeting place for Helsinki inhabitants, tourists, meeting attendants and private sports enthusiasts. For example, senior citizens can avail of a cost-free exercise slot, and sports associations and schoolchildren use the premises for their sports classes and training. Year 2022 also saw several events where anyone could come to the Stadium to exercise on the field – free of charge. The Stadium premises provide the possibility to work and organise meetings in a milieu that is unique both historically and architecturally.

In addition to the events at the Stadium, other operations are estimated to attract about 360 000 visitors annually. However, the materialised visitor number was 240 000 in 2022, as a result of the Covid restrictions that hit us hard in the early part of the year.The consumption impact by other operations and persons involved in them throughout Finland amount to some 8 million euro annually, the multiplier effect included.  

* The survey focused on the Stadium’s post-refurbishment operative and economic estimates comparing them with the 2022 figures, either materialised or predicted.  The economic impacts have been estimated using an input-output analysis, using the Statistics Finland materials for 2019.

KPMG Oy made the estimate of the impacts of the Stadium refurbishment and renewal project also in 2014. In that year, the economic impacts of the planned refurbishment and renewal project were analysed, also giving an estimate of the post-refurbishment economic impacts.

** The visitor survey was performed by Sponsor Insight Finland in April-July 2022. The interviews were made through the Dynata online panel. N 400/month. The sample corresponds to the Finnish population structure in terms of gender, age and regional administrative areas (over-18-year-olds).

The Olympic Stadium is one of the best-known landmarks in Finland and in Helsinki. The most legendary venue of events is now a multipurpose arena which meets the requirements of large-scale international events. In addition to the events, the Stadium is daily open to the city inhabitants, tourists, meeting clients and sports people.